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18 Pizzerias, and Picket Fences, Too

NEAR AT HAND A view of the public library in East Meadow. A centrally located hamlet framed by the Meadowbrook and Wantagh Parkways, it is close to shopping and 20 minutes from the Point Lookout beach.Credit
Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times

RACHEL MINKOWSKY takes a four-mile run around her East Meadow neighborhood three times a week, past children selling lemonade from stands, playing ball in the street or frolicking in the park.

“It is like something out of ‘The Wonder Years,’ ” she said.

That throwback feeling — along with a swell of young couples and young families, and a melting pot of ethnicities — serves to prove to Ms. Minkowsky, 28, and her husband, Jeff, 29, that they made the right choice. Two years ago, while living in a rental in Merrick, they searched for homes in Levittown, Massapequa and Farmingdale before settling on a $389,000 “starter house” in East Meadow: a three-bedroom one-bath 1952 ranch on a 60-by-100-square-foot lot, amid a sprawl of tidy development homes.

“We bought the house with the cute picket fence,” she said. “It is PVC, but it’s picket.” It was also affordable. Even though prices have since slumped, “there were a lot of towns that were prohibitively expensive.”

The Minkowskys also chose this 8.7-square-mile community, smack in the middle of Nassau County and one of 34 unincorporated areas in the town of Hempstead, for its central location — between her job as a guidance counselor in Queens and his as a teacher in Bay Shore.

With the Meadowbrook and Wantagh Parkways framing the hamlet to the west and east, the Minkowskys can also be on the beach in Point Lookout in 20 minutes. Besides, the local shopping is great.

She says her enthusiasm is not dampened by developments, in and near East Meadow, that are still on the drawing board, though Andrew Langus, president of the Kiwanis Club, says some residents worry that mega-projects may further congest traffic and harm the environment.

At the Nassau University Medical Center off Hempstead Turnpike and Carmen Avenue, construction on a proposed expansion, to cost $500 million to $700 million, is expected to start early next year on 35 acres — replacing abandoned buildings, one with a tree growing in the middle of it.

Just down Hempstead Turnpike in neighboring Uniondale, developers and politicians are pushing for approvals for the Lighthouse at Long Island, a $3.74 billion mixed-use development on 150 acres, including a revamped coliseum for the Islanders hockey team, 2,300 housing units and hotel, office and retail space.

According to Mr. Langus, none of East Meadow’s three landmarks — the medical center, the Nassau County jail or the county-owned Eisenhower Park — produce tax revenues for the local school district, and this would not change with a hospital expansion or the building of the Lighthouse project.

Robert Benrubi, counsel to the president and chief executive at the medical center, said a development partner for the expansion, Health Care REIT, had recently been chosen. After the completion this fall of an environmental review — studying among other things traffic and water usage — plans call for dilapidated buildings to be torn down, roads to be reconfigured and temporary parking put in place, “so we will have less impact on the surrounding community during construction.” Residents can voice concerns during the planning process, but the medical center expansion is not subject to town zoning, Mr. Benrubi said.

WHAT YOU’LL FIND

Bounded by Eisenhower Park and Old Country Road to the north, Newbridge Road to the east, Meadowbrook Parkway to the west, and North Jerusalem Avenue on the southern end, East Meadow, population 37,458, is mostly vintage 1950s suburban.

The area is replete with expanded Capes, many with twin doghouse dormers; split levels; ranches; and a few colonials. The size range is 1,100 to 3,500 square feet; lots are mostly flat. The subdivision known as Barnum Woods is slightly tonier, with larger splits and ranches and more lavish landscaping.

On Hempstead Turnpike, the major east-west artery, big box stores and fast food outlets abound. There are also strip centers on East Meadow and North Jerusalem Avenues and Newbridge Road. There is no shortage of CVS drugstores (four), Dunkin’ Donuts (four), or 7-Elevens (three); an informal count also turned up 18 pizzerias.

A few local establishments stand out: at Borelli’s, a 54-year-old family restaurant on Hempstead Turnpike, the menu includes homespun dishes like lasagna, at $10.95, and a personal shrimp pizza, for $13.50.

Along the hamlet’s western edge is a string of age-restricted and assisted-living communities, as well as Mitchel Manor, which has military housing.

To the south, East Meadow melds into Bellmore and Merrick; to the east are Levittown and Wantagh. Westbury, Salisbury and Hicksville are to the north. To the west, across the Meadowbrook Parkway, is Uniondale.

WHAT YOU’LL PAY

“The market is picking up with first-time buyers and prices adjusting,” said Richard Krug, an associate broker with Century 21 American Home. Inventory is down, with 136 houses on the market; three years ago at this time, when the market was sizzling, there were 186.

Among the buyers are John and Jayme Buckley, both 25, who grew up in East Meadow and in May paid $308,000 for a four-bedroom one-bath Cape that had initially been listed at $380,000. As first-timers, they took advantage of the $8,000 federal tax credit. Married a year and a half ago, the Buckleys had been living a few blocks away in the basement of Mr. Buckley’s parents’ home.

“We got it at a very good time,” Mr. Buckley said. “Things were starting to be a little more affordable, and we were able to find something we both liked and were able to afford.” They can walk to Uncle Giuseppe’s, their favorite Italian grocery store, and don’t mind the profusion of strip malls. “We know all the people and all the places,” he said. “I still see the charm from growing up.”

Prices are down an average of 8.5 percent from 2008, said Mandy Laderer, a broker with Prudential Douglas Elliman. Between January and August, 95 houses closed, versus 143 during the same period last year. The median sales price in 2008 was $435,000; this year, it’s $398,000. Last year, homes were on the market for an average of 100 days; this year, it is 102 days.

Prices begin at $225,000, but most starter homes run in the $300,000s, with the middle of the market ranging from $375,000 to $475,000, brokers said. High-end new construction on teardown sites has tapered off, but where it exists, it tops out in the high $600,000s and low $700,000s. That would have been more like the high $800,000s in the hot market, Mr. Krug said.

There are 12 short sales on the market.

WHAT TO DO

Eisenhower Park, the 930-acre jewel of Nassau County’s parks, has three 18-hole golf courses, a driving range and mini-golf, athletic fields, playgrounds, batting cages, a two-mile fitness trail, basketball and tennis courts, and boccie and lawn bowling. Outdoor concerts are held in the summer at the Harry Chapin Lakeside Theater.

The Nassau County Aquatic Center, built in 1998 for the Goodwill Games, has a 68-meter-long pool and a 25-meter diving well. Admission is covered by a $25 annual Leisure Pass, which is available to county residents.

Outdoor swimming, diving and wading pools are available to Hempstead town residents at Veterans Memorial Park on Prospect Avenue. East Meadow Bowl is on Front Street.

THE SCHOOLS

There are 7,481 public school students in the East Meadow School District, which has five elementary schools, two middle schools and two high schools. Both W. Tresper Clarke Middle and W. Tresper Clarke High Schools, though in the East Meadow district, are in Westbury. Some students from parts of Salisbury also attend.

The district is known for academics as well as sports. Ninety-seven percent of graduates go on to higher education. SAT averages in 2008 were 505 in reading, 537 in math and 508 in writing, versus 502, 515 and 494 statewide.

THE COMMUTE

East Meadow doesn’t have its own stop on the Long Island Rail Road, but residents can head north to the Hicksville station, which has 16 trains between 6:49 and 9 a.m., or south to the Bellmore stop, which runs 10 trains during the same peak hours. The rides take from 42 to 49 minutes, slightly more from either station with a transfer in Jamaica. A monthly pass costs $232.

THE HISTORY

In 1658, when the Meadow Brook was a stream fringed with marshland, the portion of the Hempstead Plains to its east was known as the East Meadow. The frontier settlement of Hempstead designated it as a grazing and watering area for cattle and, later, for sheep. For the next 200 years there were discussions in town meetings about the pasturing of stock.